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Re: Is ccd seasonal?

Re: Is ccd seasonal?

Originally Posted by olympic

So, no one knows the answer to this question?

The answer is Maybe. CCD doesn't necassarily follow the same guidelines(?) as Winterkill. But, I don't know if anyone can say how many Winterkilled colonies were actually the result of CCD or CCD related.

I have had colonies die during the summer and into the fall. Was that CCD? Not sure. WAs it high mites and nosema and viruses? Could have been. But, I have had high nosema spore counts in colonies which survive quite well from the samplking season, summer, and thru the winter.

Re: Is ccd seasonal?

Originally Posted by olympic

So, no one knows the answer to this question?

I actually think that may be a pretty fair statement. While there is a definition out there, it seems to mean different things to different people and sometimes becomes a catchall diagnosis. Some beekeepers (myself included) have never seen large unexplained losses where bees suddenly disappear but many beekeepers including some that I think are exceptional have experienced it. A recent experiment that Randy Oliver conducted may have provided the most compelling evidence to me that viruses may play the biggest role. It does, though, seem to be more of a fall and winter phenomena and good nutrition and low varroa mite levels seem to be the best defense against it.

"People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe."- Andy Rooney